EXPLORING RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON COSMETIC ENHANCEMENT
Book offers interviews from people of many faiths on a topic often deemed a ‘grey area’
Should faith traditions influence cosmetic enhancement? That’s a question Marissa Alarcon asked herself after seeing the social media circus happening on Filipino Facebook regarding Marlou Arizala. Alarcon is the co-ordinator of clinical research support and health care research quality improvement at the U of S College of Medicine. What grabbed her attention was 20-year-old Marlou Arizala, a member of a Filipino boy band, who underwent cosmetic enhancement because of bashing and bullying.
“Comments on social media said Marlou was the least good-looking of the five and he seemed out of place in the group,” Alarcon says. “He became a target for ‘bashers’ and ‘haters.’ The comments were demeaning, at best.”
Arizala underwent cosmetic enhancement surgery, changed his screen name to Xander Ford, became a media darling, and now enjoys celebrity status in the Philippines.
Alarcon, who is from the Philippines, knew the country’s strongly Catholic tradition and wondered about the church’s response. Was there specific teaching on the subject of cosmetic enhancement? What about other denominations and world religions?
She began researching the subject and recently published her findings in a book entitled Religious Perspectives on Cosmetic Enhancement.
Few would question the morality of reconstructive surgery in cases involving disfigurement, like that of Pakistani female education activist, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the face at close range. Or the woman in France who lost her nose, lips and chin when her dog attacked her.
But what about the majority of cosmetic enhancement procedures which are considered to be purely vanity surgeries?
Psychology Today cited a 1997 survey that said 56 per cent of women and 43 per cent of men are dissatisfied with their overall appearance. Alarcon is confident the numbers are much higher today given the prevalence and popularity of enhancement surgeries.
“Since tummy tucks, Botox, facelifts and breast enlargements weren’t available when the Hebrew Scriptures, Qur’an, Bhagavad Gita and other holy texts were composed,” Alarcon says, “cosmetic enhancement is often a grey area as far as religion is concerned.”
But that doesn’t mean that people of faith don’t have specific convictions on the subject. In her research, Alarcon interviewed people from a variety of professional, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Interviewees included representatives of Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, mainstream Protestant Christianity, plus Roman and Ukrainian Catholicism.
Using Marlou as a conversation starter, she posed a slate of questions including how the person’s faith tradition views cosmetic enhancement, whether there is specific teaching on the subject, and if their culture or ethnicity influences their opinions.
Responses to her questions showed that heritage and culture play a significant role in the opinions of people born outside of North America. Being thin may be seen by many as criteria for beauty in North America, but in traditional African culture, being thin or slim is associated with poverty and suffering. For Africans, good character and respecting one’s elders and one’s culture is considered integral in the perception and pursuit of beauty.
In Filipino culture, pale skin is considered evidence of higher class, and is therefore viewed as more beautiful.
Prior to 1920, a white complexion was considered the height of beauty in North America, too. Post-1920, a darker complexion was prized and seen as a sign of affluence, leisure and holidays spent sunbathing. Christians Alarcon interviewed frequently mentioned humans being created in the image of God, and cited Scriptures like Proverbs 31:30: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
Hindu interviewees quoted a teaching from their faith: “Without virtue, beauty is useless; our outer beauty fades but our inner thoughts, feelings, values and personality never leave us.”
A Sikh professor remarked, “When we receive a gift, we don’t tell the giver we do not like it and wish to exchange it ... Since it is a gift, we are happy to have it and appreciate the gift as it is. Our bodies and appearance should be thought of in this way, as a perfect gift that does not need to be altered or exchanged.”
“Vanity and pride are considered man’s greatest sins,” said a follower of Islam. “Therefore, altering God’s creation in pursuit of beauty is forbidden.” While these teachings do not specifically refer to cosmetic enhancement, he said, they are easily relatable. “When it is not for a medical reason, altering God’s creation ... yourself ... in pursuit of beauty is unacceptable, a form of vanity, which is a sin.”
Most respondents believed that what matters most is the individual’s own perception of what is right, wrong, good, or bad for them. Several considered cosmetic enhancement a drastic measure and suggested that focusing on the individual’s talents, gifts and inner healing was a better option. Marissa Alarcon’s Religious Perspectives on Cosmetic Enhancement is available on Amazon and at Universal Church Supplies.